In each room of the refurbished
and re-opened Williamsburg Inn are displayed a photo and a brief story about a VIP who visited
the city.

The king of Sweden, Carl Gustaf XVI took
a look at Colonial Williamsburgs palace in 1976

Chairman Winthrop Rockefeller
showed Jordans King Hussein around the Capitol in 1959.

Countless distinguished visitors, important people from all over the
world, have come to Colonial Williamsburg. The town has welcomed every
American president since 1926 except Kennedy, as well as most vice presidents,
and hundreds of senators, congressmen, governors, and Supreme Court
justices. Add to that group scores of kings and queens, princes and
princesses, heads of state, military leaders, movie stars, sports celebrities,
musicians, artists, religious leaders, authors, and television personalities.
Some stay a couple of hours-Jimmy Carter gave a fund-raising speech
at the Williamsburg Lodge in 1977 and slipped out before dinner-most
stay a few days. John Wayne lingered for a week in 1978. International
tennis champion Helen Hull Jacobs was so tremendously pleased
with Colonial Williamsburg that she rented the Orrell House for five
months in 1939-40. Many VIPs returned for a second visit. King Hussein
of Jordan came four times, as did James Michener and the Shah of Iran.
Richard Nixon made at least five trips. Margaret Thatcher has lost count.

The capital of the largest and most populous of Great
Britains mainland colonies, eighteenth-century Williamsburg
drew American and European travelers like a magnet. The first genuine
celebrity to walk down Duke of Gloucester Street was probably Benjamin
Franklin, the printer-scientist who had achieved international fame
for taming lightening. A foreigner from the Pennsylvania
colony, he came to Williamsburg in 1756 on post office business
and collected an honorary degree from the College of William and
Mary. It was the colleges first but Franklins third-he
had collected similar honors from Yale and Harvard three years
before. He enjoyed his visit and was impressed by the hospitality of the
natives. Like many visitors, he wrote home with his observations: Virginia
is a pleasant country, now in full spring; the people extremely obliging
and polite.

Skipping over George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and
other heroes of the Revolution, Williamsburgs next distinguished
visitor was Noah Webster. The city was a stop on a lecture tour the
young author took in 1785 to promote his speller. Traveling on horseback
and by stage, Webster visited Richmond, Petersburg, and Williamsburg,
counting houses as he went-230 in Williamsburg-and lecturing on the
need for an American language. Unlike Franklin, he found little to like
about Virginia. The peoples amazing fondness for Dissipation
offended his puritanical upbringing. Plays, horse-races &
games are almost the sole objects of pursuit, he said. The degree
of illiteracy appalled him; after all, the absence of schools was bad
for textbook sales. Great numbers of men . . . cannot write their
names, he wrote. O New England! how superior are thy inhabitants
in morals, literature, civility & industry.

The 1824 visit of the aging Marquis de Lafayette was
like nothing Williamsburg had experienced. An important stop on
his media-hyped American tour, the stopover was made more meaningful
by his lodging at the house where he had been quartered during the
Battle of Yorktown, today known as the Peyton Randolph House, and
by his reunion with James Lafayette, the former slave and wartime
spy who had adopted the Frenchmans name out of respect. The
college took the opportunity to bestow an honorary doctor of law
degree on the beloved Frenchman.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the college conferred
honors mostly on clergymen and state legislators but occasionally stretched
itself to include men of national prominence. Presidents John Tyler,
Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin
Roosevelt, and Harry Truman all came to Williamsburg to receive degrees,
and all saw something of eighteenth-century Williamsburg while in town.

The historic restoration known as Colonial Williamsburg started
in November of 1926 when John D. Rockefeller, Jr., began purchasing
Williamsburg property. The first official Very Important Person
to tour the Restoration arrived on opening day, 1934. Franklin
D. Roosevelt motored down Duke of Gloucester Street in the presidential
touring car and gave a short speech in which he called the thoroughfare
the most historic avenue in all America.

Although the Great Depression discouraged travel, Williamsburg
drew several thousand annual visitors during the 1930s. Among
them were child star Shirley Temple, artist Georgia OKeefe,
and oboist Mitch Miller-before he became known for his sing-along
chorus. Wartime rationing restricted travel during most of the
1940s, but the poet Robert Frost was at Chownings Tavern
when it opened just a few days before Pearl Harbor. Walt Disney
came during the war to learn what Colonial Williamsburg was doing
in the new field of educational filmmaking. Winston Churchill,
Dwight Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, and President Truman visited
after the war ended.

Most VIPs stayed at the Williamsburg Inn or in one of the Inns
restored colonial houses. Built in 1937, the Williamsburg Inn offered
the finest accommodations in the area. Queen Elizabeth II occupied an
Inn suite in 1957, King Hussein in 1959. In 1938, two colonial homes,
the Orrell House and the Quarters, were furnished for overnight guests
who wanted a more authentic eighteenth-century experience. These proved
so popular over the years that more than two dozen residences, outbuildings,
and taverns scattered throughout the Historic Area are now available
to the public. Author James Michener enjoyed the Moody House in 1966
and 1976; as did Lady Bird Johnson in 1977 and German Prime Minister
Helmut Kohl in 1983. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau stayed at
the Bracken House in 1983, the year Ronald Reagan put up at Providence
Hall House. The Chiswell-Bucktrout House welcomed Maori Queen Dame Te
Atairangikaahu from New Zealand in 1979 and Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher in 1983.

In 1962 the Lightfoot House, on Francis Street a few steps from the
Inn, was designated the official residence for distinguished guests.
Since then, Thatcher, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Indira Gandhi of India,
King Olav V of Norway, François Mitterand of France, and scores
of other heads of state have enjoyed the comfort and privacy of this
elegantly restored eighteenth-century house. The entourage that always
accompanies royalty and heads of state usually books rooms at the Inn
or at the Williamsburg Lodge.

In the 1950s Colonial Williamsburg President Carlisle
Humelsine began a program with the U.S. Department of State that
routed foreign leaders through Williamsburg on their way to Washington.
Humelsine, who had been a deputy undersecretary of state before
coming to Colonial Williamsburg in 1953, said an introduction to
American history would bring about a greater understanding of Americas
democratic values. Such visits would also have the practical benefit
of giving the guest a day or two to recover from the long trip and
the time change before heading into the national capitals
whirl of summit meetings and state dinners.

The heir to Japans Chrysanthemum throne
was the first foreign visitor under the program. Nineteen-year-old
Crown Prince Akihito, today emperor, was on his first overseas
trip when he came to Williamsburg. The royal tour received wide
coverage from the international press. A few weeks later, King
Paul and Queen Frederika of Greece arrived, much to the delight
of Williamsburgs vibrant Greek community.

The State Department- sponsored visits followed a
general pattern. They usually began with a private screening of
the movie Williamsburg-The Story of a Patriot and a ride through
the Historic Area in a horse-drawn carriage. Reporters and photographers
dogged the visitors for a short while, but their access was minimized
to preserve the visitors privacy. Favorite photo ops were
in the carriage, in the Speakers Chair at the Capitol, and
in front of the Governors Palace. Time constraints and individual
preferences influenced which stops a VIP might make.

Typically the itinerary included the Capitol, the Governors Palace,
and two or three historic trades sites. Guests who stayed several days
often toured Jamestown and Yorktown to see the beginning and the end of
English colonialism in America.

Sometimes the visitors had special requests: In 1981, Richard and Pat
Nixon asked for a tour of the archaeology lab. When the flu confined
Yugoslavias Communist leader Josip Broz Tito to bed at the Lightfoot
House in 1963, his wife asked to visit a plantation and an American
grocery store.

Distinguished visitors arrived by train like Winston
Churchill in 1946, by private plane like Jack Nicklaus in 1967,
by yacht like President Truman in 1948, by helicopter like King
Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1966, and by limousine like Shirley Temple
in 1938 and the Shah of Iran in 1973. Sometimes Marine One, the
presidents helicopter, landed on the golf course immediately
next to the Williamsburg Inn to pick up or drop off a chief executive
or foreign leader. Traditionally, the Fife and Drum Corps greeted
them, either at the airport or in the Historic Area. An elegant
reception and dinner at the Governors Palace or Carters
Grove, complete with eighteenth-century entertainment, were standard.

The State Department advised on dietary requirements, allowing Inn
chefs to serve meals and beverages that accommodated each guests
religion and national customs. King Mahendra and Queen Ratna of Nepal
requested fruit with every meal and no pork or lamb. Crown Prince Hassan
of Libya asked for mineral water as his only beverage.

Members of Colonial Williamsburgs staff did their best to anticipate
what would please each guest. When they learned Zambias President
Kenneth Kaunda preferred folk songs to classical music, a balladeer
was substituted for the instrumentalists planned for the Palace ballroom.
Upon the discovery that Romanian President Nicholas Ceaucescu liked
to play volleyball, a net appeared behind the Lightfoot House and a
brief game ensued.

Foreign dignitaries were usually presented with a handcrafted
gift made by Colonial Williamsburg tradesmen: King Mohammed V
of Morocco, who came to Williamsburg at Thanksgiving in 1957,
was presented with a silver bowl engraved with images of the Palace,
the Capitol, and the Wren Building. President Truman got a framed
picture of the Frenchmans Map for the presidential yacht.
Britains recently widowed Queen Elizabeth-the Queen Mum-accepted
a wooden cribbage board and a miniature silver tea service in
1954 to give her two grandchildren, Prince Charles and Princess
Anne.

As the convenience and speed of air travel increased, Colonial Williamsburgs
decompression chamber for foreign heads of state was called
upon less often. Still, Williamsburgs international reputation
makes it a favorite spot for many foreign leaders. Recently, Williamsburg
has welcomed Chinas president Jiang Zemin, Denmarks Queen
Margrethe II, Norways King Harald and Queen Sonja, and Irelands
president, Mary Robinson.

Because of Colonial Williamsburgs reputation
for handling visits of foreign heads of state and its proximity
to Washington, President Reagan chose it to host the Ninth Annual
International Summit of Industrialized Nations in 1983. The enormity
of the summit-the logistics, security, and transportation for hundreds
of political leaders and thousands from the world press-caused Colonial
Williamsburg to close the Historic Area for the first time. For
three days in May, the international media spotlight shone brightly.

Film and television personalities have come to Colonial Williamsburg,
some to work, others to vacation. There was Mister Rogers in 1993, Perry
Como and John Wayne in 1978, and Lassie in 1966-all filmed television
show episodes in the colonial capital. In 1979, Kirk Douglas scouted
the Historic Area for film possibilities. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. visited
in 1951, and Charleton Heston in 1987. Opera star Leontyne Price sang
at the Inn in 1983.

A 1995 gathering of the American Academy of Achievement brought
three hundred of the most successful people in the country to
Williamsburg. There were dozens of well-known men and women from
the corporate, scientific, and literary worlds. But film and music
stars like Barbra Streisand, Tom Selleck, Naomi Judd, Robin Williams,
and George Lucas got the most public attention from the press.

The Williamsburg Inn finishes its extensive restoration and reopens,
in part, this autumn with enlarged guest rooms and modernized
bathrooms. In an effort to acknowledge the history of distinguished
visitors, Sue Green, former vice president of the Colonial Williamsburg
Company Hospitality Group, decided to hang in every room a photograph
of a famous guest, with details of the visit. Where possible,
the picture is matched to the room that guest used. The suite
that was redecorated in pastel pinks and greens for young Queen
Elizabeth in 1957 now has her picture to remind lodgers of that
occasion, as do the rooms that were occupied by John Wayne and
Shirley Temple.

The procession of distinguished visitors continues. In recent months,
Margaret Thatcher made yet another trip to Williamsburg to speak at
the college and at a Colonial Williamsburg luncheon; German Prince Hans
Georg and his younger brother, Prince Ludwig Ferdinand, presented a
gift to Colonial Williamsburg President Colin Campbell at the Governors
Palace; and Vice President Dick Cheney attended a dinner at the Wallace
Museum.

But everyone who sets foot in Williamsburg is a VIP. Southern hospitality
has been liberally ladled out to all comers since Williamsburg was founded
in 1699. Nat Reid, bellman at the Williamsburg Inn for forty years,
said it best: It doesnt matter whether they are a regular
guest or a king. We treat them all like kings.

Mary Miley Theobald contributed to the summer journal the story Whatever
Happened to Benedict Arnold?

Faces Famous and Familiar

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt paid an unexpected visit to Colonial Williamsburg in
February of 1959. She arrived with friends on a Friday evening
and began the weekend with dinner at Christiana Campbells
Tavern. Saturday the seventy-five-year-old former first lady embarked
on a whirlwind tour of the Historic Area that would have exhausted
a teenager. She began with the film Williamsburg- The Story of
a Patriot at the Information Center and hopped the bus for the
Historic Area. She toured the Governors Palace first, with
its outbuildings and gardens, then worked her way through the
Brush-Everard House, the Wythe House, Bruton Parish Church, the
Bootmakers, the Printing Office, the Post Office, the Millinery
Shop, the Silversmiths Shop-all before lunch. After a meal
at Chownings Tavern, the indefatigable Eleanor went to the
Capitol and the Gaol, drove to Jamestown, returned to see the
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection and shop at the Craft
House-where she purchased Delft and silver-dined at the Williamsburg
Inn, and finished the day back at Bruton Church with an organ
recital.

All her life, Eleanor Roosevelt was an energetic and outspoken
advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. As first lady, she was
an influential proponent of equal rights. When her husband, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, died at the end of World War II, she continued
in public service.

Robert Frost

On a cold December afternoon two days before the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor, Robert Frost shared a drink with friends at Chownings
Tavern. The most popular American poet of his time, Frost had
come from Boston to serve as official poet at the annual meeting
of the Phi Beta Kappa society, founded in 1776 by College of William
and Mary students. He read three of his poems, none of which had
been made public before. The last was The Gift Outright:

The land was ours before we were the lands.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were Englands, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender. . .

In 1961 he was invited to read one of his poems at the inauguration
of President John F. Kennedy. He chose The Gift Outright.

John Wayne

Born in 1907, Marion Robert Morrison adopted the tougher-sounding name
John Wayne when he started working as an extra in John Fords
early western motion pictures. His rugged good looks and macho
image brought him half a century of starring roles fighting rustlers,
Indians, Germans, Japanese, and legions of other bad guys. When
critics lambasted his one-dimensional acting, he shrugged it off.
Nobody seems to like my acting ability but the people,
he was fond of saying. The people backed him at the box office,
making him one of the most popular actors in movie history.

Wayne came to Williamsburg for the filming of Perry Comos
1978 ABC-TV Christmas Special. The musical extravaganza involved
dozens of costumed Colonial Williamsburg employees in front of
the cameras and hundreds of others behind the scenes. Filming
took six days in early November. The autumn leaves still clinging
to the trees had to be singed off to give the illusion of winter.
Wayne took a suite at the Williamsburg Inn for the week. Always
gracious and unassuming, the Academy Award-winning actor chatted
easily between scenes with employees, visitors, and the press.

His scenes in the Perry Como special were among his last before
the camera. Seven months later, the screen legend, who had come
to symbolize American courage and patriotism, was dead at seventy-two.